Progress seen in Obama's candidacy, young generation's views

January 20, 2008|Story by Tim Collie and Gregory Lewis Staff writers

Don Mizell was among the first black students to integrate Nova High School. A graduate of Harvard Law School, he was a major player behind the effort to make the Rev. Martin Luther King's birthday a national holiday. Cheryl Mizell also was part of the first class of children who integrated elementary schools in Miami-Dade County. Both think the candidacies of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are major steps forward in the long marches of racial and gender equality. Still, they are bracing for what Don Mizell fears will be a "high-tech lynching" as the year progresses. Already, hate e-mails have circulated around the country casting lies about Obama, his religion, his church and his family.

In a two-hour discussion, they reflected on the year ahead. Some excerpts:

Don: "There's clearly been progress. The kids who showed up to vote for Obama in Iowa, they're part of a generation that just rolls their eyes over race. It's a hip-hop culture that really doesn't see these lines anymore."

Cheryl: "The fact that so many whites could support Barack in Iowa. That was a huge step. It wasn't the end result, but it really gives you hope."

Don: "But I think this election is going to be a litmus test for race in America. If Barack is not on that ticket - I don't care if it's for vice president or president - then the issue of race is still a problem in America."

Don: "I am skeptical that white folks are just waiting, looking for a reason to vote for a black person. I think they would like to think of themselves that way. ... They don't want to be seen as racist. But they're not willing to abandon their race consciousness if it threatens their privileged position."

Cheryl: "It is related to age, I think. The ones closer to 30, the younger people, race will be less of a factor. And the closer you get to 60, race will be more of a factor. ... And I think there are other blacks who feel it could be a wasted vote, that he'll never get on the ticket."

Don: "But I have to say, I'd be happy with Hillary, Barack, even John Edwards, as president. There has been progress. They all come out of the philosophy of the civil rights movement to use the courts and the laws of this nation for social justice. They're all part of Martin Luther King's legacy. They're the progeny of the dream of King."

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Don Mizell, 57

Cheryl Mizell, 52

Live in: Southern California; Miami

Work as: Entertainment attorney; voice-over actress, radio personality and journalist

The Mizells are cousins and scions of one of South Florida's pioneering, prominent black families.

INSIDE 6B

Bacardi

L. Jackson is the daughter of the Rev. James Bevel, who was a strategist with the Rev. Martin Luther King. She says rhetoric about race is being used to distract voters.

The Rev. Kwame Alston, a Fort Lauderdale minister, says he was inspired by King. He supports Barack Obama, saying he is "fresh, nontraditional."